Yes, definitely. If, by old, you mean born before 1993.
Wouldn't that mean that the only people considered young and hip enough to 'get' myspace would be too young to signup for it based on their terms of service age restriction?;)
A significant number of people, sucking down 5-8Gb every day or so. I think we'll start to see the ISP's enforcing their (unwritten) bandwidth limits.
I agree, once the "tubes" start filling up the ISPs are going to start sending out bandwidth over-limit notices to more and more people. How long until we see a class action suit against some of the larger ISPs (Comcast, RCN, Verizon, etc) when all of a sudden your average Joe is finding out that "unlimited bandwidth" is actually limited? Up until now we've only really heard about, shall we say, more suspect[1] customers running up against unpublished bandwidth limts so it's been off most people's radars. And AFAIK these ISPs are still not publishing hard and fast bandwidth cap numbers, even when asked directly by those being accused of going over them. The ISPs of course want it both ways, they want everyone to think it's unlimited, because that's a great selling point, but it only works as long as people aren't even coming close to maxing out their connections. However, once the public at large start transferring gigs/day the ISPs are either going to have to start advertising caps, or upgrading infrastructure to handle the load (fiber finally anyone?).
[1] I say "suspect" because, let's face it, the majority of the people pulling down 10 gigs/day are not simply getting linux distros over p2p. Yes, there are valid reasons for that much data, but a good chunk of it, at least right now, is people pirating movies. Of course with the advent of youtube and other video streaming sites popping up I'm sure the bandwidth usage gap between legitimate users and media pirates is closing.
Yes, thank you for pointing that out. I pretty much despise both major parties since they're both in it for the same reasons: more power for themselves. That was also why 'reps' [representatives] was lowercase. Some people love to see bias everywhere. And to the grandparent AC poster: trust me bub, when I post to tear apart the Republicans, you'll know it.
If by values voters you mean Indian casinos contributing to campaign coffers. It's interesting to note that many of the reps against online gambling seem to have no problem at all supporting local tribal casinos. It's all about who's greasing palms and playing nice with the government (ala taxes).
You missed the actual reason (IMHO) why the major excuse for preventing this feature is "American citizens will be targeted." It's not because the world is so anti-American that it's patently unsafe to be identified as American, but because claims of terrorism sells in DC.
The opposition to RFID passports has tried other arguments - the technology is (relatively) unproven and insecure, there are privacy issues, cost vs benefit, ID spoofing, etc. None of it did any good since we still see the measure being pushed. So if you can't beat em, join em. And why not? Screaming 'ZOMGWTFBBQ terrorists!' has pushed through every other piece of oppressive and stupid legislation since 911, so let's speak the language our reps appear to understand. If you RFID passports then terrorists will use them to ID and target American citizens abroad. Who cares if it's true, practically nothing else this administration has based on terrorism allegations has been true. If only we could demonstrate that the RFID tags somehow aided pedophiles then the tags would be shot down in a special session of congress tomorrow! RFID passports?!?! Think of the Children!!!
IIRC when the movie was first being shopped around it was mentioned that Bungie had put together a 'Halo Bible' of sorts to provide clarity and guidance on the storyline. Is he even using this Ultimate Reference? Personally I don't consider myself one of these 5% fringe fans who feel wronged by every edit, but if Bungie has in fact made available a document which provides all of the Halo-world information to make a true-to-form movie then it would be stupid not to at least start with that and then make alterations as needed.
Bungie has already done all the hard work here, they've created the universe, the storyline, the characters, and have sold it to millions of fans who know and love THAT particular version. Working from anything other than the Bungie story source is essentially just throwing all that work out. Stay true to what Bungie created and you're guaranteed almost the entire Halo playing audience without much effort.
Oh, that and shoot Uwe Boll on sight if he wanders near the set.;)
Although you're technically correct (the BEST kind of correct!) it doesn't change the analogy. Replace 'ISP' with 'facebook' and it still doesn't explain how if the kid agreed to such a check with the employer, when did he tell facebook so that they knew to let the employer have access? The only other options are the employer gave facebook some sort of USA PATRIOT ACT order to which they complied (as alleged), or as someone else suggested, the employer simply googled a cached copy and then tried to seem all important and powerful by claiming to have found it via envoking the USA PATRIOT ACT. Or maybe he personally hacked facebook and claimed he used the act, as an unlikely alternative.
no expections, don't even try to parade your favorite one out and claim them to be virtuous and pure, you are wrong
Actually I think you'll find that Ron Paul (R, TX) seems to be one of the few representatives out there who fights for ideals and measured government rather than towing (toeing) a company line. He originally ran as a Libertarian and was defeated, switched to running as a Republican and got elected, however his policies are wholly Libertarian. He writes columns posted on www.lewrockwell.com on occassion and I find his writings are more in-line with the majority of slashdotter's than anyone else in government.
Also, with regard to the flagburning comment that you tore into, I think what the author meant was that more people are more familiar with the recent flag burning legislation issues than with recent cyberspace legislation issues. He did not mean the concept of flag burning in general. What's always depressingly amusing (to me anyway) about the anti-flag burning legislation that cycles through congress every few years is that it's never really been a problem. It's pretty clear that the current round has been brought about soley because of (A) the current war in Iraq and the "support the troops and presidential policy or you're a terrorist" mentality this administration is trying to sell, and (B) it's an election year. If flag burning were really a pandemic issue that required congressional attention you'd think you'd see even one US incident reported, but this is not the case. They are few and far between, there are no mass flag-burning rallies. People aren't pouring gas on piles of flags in demonstration, it's just more vote-grabbing by trying to look patriotic, ironically by snuffing the freedoms of others. I don't want to get into the debate of flag burning as politcal speech, but needless to say case law currently upholds that and there is no flag-burning crisis so it's all a load of crap meant to distract people from important issues - like net neutrality for example.;) While I say that somewhat tongue-in-cheek, it does stand to reason that many more people will be (adversely) affected by rulings on net neutrality than on flag burning.
Halo's success was only in part to do with advertising, it's a clean, well-done FPS that offers a lot of options during battle. Also I should note I'm mostly referring to the PvP side of it. The solo game was fun but got repetitive and boring fast.
I never saw any ads for Halo but after playing it at a friends house I became instantly addicted, it had a balance to it that other FPSes at the time seemed to lack. If the game sold only on advertising hype then there would be no explanation for the massive popularity of it on xbox Live (Halo 2 that is) and the freeware networking program that was created for Halo 1 before over-the-net play was provided by MS/bungie through Live.
Bloody well posted Intergalatic Edison! I eventually found the notice in the 'records department' in the basement. The stairs had gone, as had the lights. It was in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'beware of the leopard'.
For those of us that can multitask such simple things like filling out our contact info on a form and putting together a letter (a sum total of perhaps 2 minutes) this isn't even a blip on the radar. If I'm watching something I like on TV or waiting for my chicken to defrost for dinner then I have time to fill this stuff out that I don't need to bill someone for. Hell, people waste more time using the bathroom in the morning. So yeah, given the tiny amount of time filling out a rebate takes, along with how much time is wasted or spent idling during the day, it is essentially free. Especially when you're talking about any rebate over even, say, $5. If it takes me 5 minutes to fill out the forms and collect the UPCs and I consider my time worth, for example, $30/hr then I have lost $30/60 minutes * 5 minutes = $2.50 of time billing at my arbitrary rate. Yet the rebate is for double this amount so I have made money. For higher amount rebates like for monitors that can be for $80 or more the rebate submission time to money returned ratio is MUCH higher. The phrase "there's no such thing as a free lunch" is techically true, but only really applies in a theoretical world where every moment of time and every cent is held with perfect value and one never wastes either. In reality laziness, marginal value, and perceived value tend to create a more inefficient system that allow for "free" lunches.
What about:
5. The bank buys the PCs with OEM Windows installs and accepts the licenses (and terms of the EULA). Then, it immediately installs it's corporate Windows version/license and resells the now unsed but perfectly valid OEM licenses as before.
I think the judge messed up on this one. His argument seems ot rely ont he bank not accepting the EULA and therefore not technically obtaining the licenses. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe there is a clause in the current MS Windows EULA that specifically says that you cannot resell the software with the license. So what is the bank doing that invalidates the EULA other than saying "We don't want the OS that came with this?"
I agree though, that the proper solution is for the OEM to reimburse the bank (or whoever) the cost of the license that they don't want and aren't using. Sadly that option is missing from most every PC seller, and it's always amazed me how this fact somehow escapes all of the antitrust suits brought against MS.
I just wonder how/if MS will get the music cartels to agree to it, other than wholescale bombing of their headquarters' into submission by the Windows Air Force.
"Why those are some real nice computers you got there at the RIAA, running some fancy Windows OS too. Sure would be a shame if WGA suddenly listed them all as pirated...."
genius, what about all the companies that manage their own installs and don't want, or can't run WGA?
e.g. a company that does secure work for the government and legally must have a secured network. A program which auto-downloads from an outside source and installs arbitrary code - including the ability to remotely disable the machine - would not fly in such an environment. Geez, good thing you posted AC, your ignorance is showing. Looking around the room and seeing what works for YOU does not mean the solution is good enough for EVERYONE.
So even with an HD-capable TV what exactly justifies the rediculous cost of these next-gen players for early-adopters, or even a year from now? Current DVDs look just fine on my HDTV, I'm not sure I really need to spend over $1000 just to get better definition of people's facial hair.
This has all been said before here on slashdot, but the fact remains, there is no killer app for blueray/HD-DVD that justifies the huge expense to convert one's current DVD collection. I just don't get it.
Also, why the hell are they so expensive anyway? It's a higher density format, with more data to decode faster and with a new type of laser, and granted economies of scale haven't kicked in yet. But considering a good quality DVD player is about 15% or less the cost of these new players, what is driving such a rediculous price? For $1000 to $1500 just about anyone can put together a computer system to record TV, including hi-def content, and store and distribute on-demand their personal DVD collection throughout their house with that sytem. Plus it will likely be a nice enough gaming rig to boot. Let's see, full home streaming video system vs higher res movies that don't even exist yet. Gee, tough call. [/cynicism]
Eight year old's response after watching Marty McFly play the arcade shooting game in the diner in 2015: "You mean you have to use your hands? That's a baby's game."
FTFA: On Friday, June 9th 2006 at 3.30pm, after sending several unanswered letters asking for an interview, and after warning of his coming, Richard Stallman [...] a roll of paper containing the names of the 165,000 individual signatures and 1000 collective signatures [...] The FSF France received no answer (neither negative nor positive) from Prime Minister.
So yes, they did attempt to set up a meeting but were given no response, so they sent word on what time and date they would attempt to meet inperson to present their grievance - which was some 165,000 names of French citizens who had signed a petition. That many signatures takes up a lot of paper, he chose to print it to a roll rather than a full reem of 8.5x11, I don't really see how that has any bearing. Also, his coice of dress - while terrible for meeting with any politician, let alone the PM of another country - is netiher directly relevent to our conversation, nor is it that of a hobo since it's what you can see anywhere in corporate America on a casual Friday.
To sum up: the FSF and Stallman sent a number of letters asking for an interview but were ignored. They then provided written notice of their coming, so as not to be mistaken for hooligans and shot or otherwise. And they brought with them a list of 165,000 people who agreed with their grievance on DRM and had it printed in an obscure but rather formal looking format.
So explain to me again how this is not attempting to make a meeting, then failing that, attempting to present the grievance in person? If this were truly merely theatrics to get themselves noticed don't you think they would have alerted any media whatsoever to cover the event? Instead it looks like someone from their group, or at best a single reporter, snapped some digital photos, hardly a publicity stunt.
Also I would say that anytime 165,000 of a country's citizens sign a petition and work to have it presented to their representative leaders, that is attempting to start a serious dialogue about an issue.
No, people certainly don't do "a lot" with blackberries.
Let's see, browse the web, take photos and 20fps videos, email, write documents, play games, calculator, code write code on it if there were an IDE app for it (migh tbe? not sure). Sounds like pretty much what everyone uses a desktop PC for already as far as basic tasks go. You want more powerful apps look at the OQO and whta it has to offer, AFAIK, that would be everything a PC offers.
Typing with two fingers won't get you very far, and having to squint to try and read the screen (or zooming in and having to scroll constantly) isn't productive at all.Have you ever actually typed with two fingers? Or seen some of the crackberry users who do it all day long? 120 wpm is not out of reach for some people. Plus you're making the false assumption that this device absolutely must be used for the same purpose as a full sized PC, there are different applications that lend themselves to portability than wordprocessing. Yeah, if you want to write a novel maybe a full sized keyboard would be a better investment. Why does that mean that this theoretical microPC device is somehow worthless because you can't perform a single specific function that is limited by the nature of our hands? What if there's enough processing power on this new device to make autodictation fast and reliable, why would I even need to type my document then? And to counter your privacy argument there is technology coming out that allows you to attach a sensor to your throat and it understands wehat you are saying if you talking silently, military is looking to use it for missions where both silence and communication is needed. Also I don't need to squint to read the screen, nor zoom to read text. I see no reason why any device shoul dbe stilted for not being accesible by the lowest common denominator of user. So what if Blindy McGrandpa can't read the screen, I ca and it's a useful device for me. Should we not build fighter planes anymore just because most of the population lacks the better than 20-20 eyesight required by pilots?
Trying to focus on a screen less than an inch in-front of you eyes to read it, however, is impossible for your eyes.
There are already devices that focus the light directly onto the back of your eye with no negative effects, so no focus is even needed for such a system. Beyond that one can adjust the image so that it does produced a focused picture for the eye without a person having to actually focus at a 2" distance.
That's not space-saving at all. First off, because the main unit is nearly as large as a (folded?) keyboard to begin with. Second, because you really have to carry a DESK with you to use it...
Ok, so there's no chance whatsoever that this first gen device can be made smaller? Yeah right, no doubt in a year's time it will be half the size, I'd wager a large part fo the space is taken up by the batteries currently. See the recent article on capacitor batteries for a view of how that will change. And who says you need a chest high desk? Just take out a manilla folder and put it on your lap. Is your complaint that you can't use it standing up on a train? Fine, then get a single hand keyboard. Oh Noes! A siungle hand keyboard requires learning how to use it. Yeah, guess what, every device has a learning curve, and if you aren't willing to learn a new interface device to gain the benfits of a totally portable system then who cares about your opinion? Fully portable minature powerful PCs offer a whole new class of applications we haven't even thought of yet, refusing to acknowledge that is like clinging to a landline and not getting a cellphone because the battery may run out on the cellphone someday but your landline will always have power.
Shrink a PC/PDA all you want, but I still need to carry around a 5"x3" keyboard and perhaps an 8" screen ( AT MINIMUM ) to be able to DO ANYTHING useful with it.
Ever here of a Blackberry? The dimension of the entire device is about 4"x3" and yet somehow people manage to get a lot done with them. And my vx9800 phone seems to be extremely useful with a full qwerty keyboard under 4" x 1.5" and a 2" x 1.5" screen, it's mostly limited currently by a lack of open applications and good mobile websites. I can only imagine what a device this size will have to offer me when it's processing capabilites are on-par with a laptop.
A "glasses" display will only make you sick, possibly giving you eyesight problems, serious headaches, etc.
I'm sorry to hear that you appear to have inner ear problems. I, however, have no problem reading or watching screens in moving vehicles, feel fine at sea, and am not made sick by current lightweight head-mounted displays I've tested for military grade robotics. A properply adjusted and focused glasses display will cause no more eyesight problems than staring at a 15" LCD in a dark room furtively posting on slashdot at 4 in the morning.;P
And since there's currently no good replacements for keyboards, hasn't saved space anyhow.
To that end, why even bother using a shared hotmail account at all? Just store an unassuming text file on filefarmer or something. Or priavte files on a myspace account, or or or or.... There's a million ways that an organization could disseminate information through use of shared accounts that can serve an editable file. And the only way to detect that would be to constantly monitor all internet traffic and mine it for such dispersed download patterns.....
Kinda puts the NSA-AT&T fiber optic cable splice into a new light, eh?
Still, that's even more useless than sifting through a billion call logs since essentially EVERY request for data on the web is from multiple distributed users all trying to get a file from server X. Whether it's the latest Linux release, or a news article, or pictures of someone's new baby, there's just too much to find the one README.TXT that the (at this point wholly theoretical) terrorist cell is checking and editing on their RCN-provided webspace account.
Slashdot Mirror
I *knew* it! I knew someone else must like Verilog. You, sir, rule.
Yes, definitely. If, by old, you mean born before 1993.
;)
Wouldn't that mean that the only people considered young and hip enough to 'get' myspace would be too young to signup for it based on their terms of service age restriction?
A significant number of people, sucking down 5-8Gb every day or so. I think we'll start to see the ISP's enforcing their (unwritten) bandwidth limits.
I agree, once the "tubes" start filling up the ISPs are going to start sending out bandwidth over-limit notices to more and more people. How long until we see a class action suit against some of the larger ISPs (Comcast, RCN, Verizon, etc) when all of a sudden your average Joe is finding out that "unlimited bandwidth" is actually limited? Up until now we've only really heard about, shall we say, more suspect[1] customers running up against unpublished bandwidth limts so it's been off most people's radars. And AFAIK these ISPs are still not publishing hard and fast bandwidth cap numbers, even when asked directly by those being accused of going over them. The ISPs of course want it both ways, they want everyone to think it's unlimited, because that's a great selling point, but it only works as long as people aren't even coming close to maxing out their connections. However, once the public at large start transferring gigs/day the ISPs are either going to have to start advertising caps, or upgrading infrastructure to handle the load (fiber finally anyone?).
[1] I say "suspect" because, let's face it, the majority of the people pulling down 10 gigs/day are not simply getting linux distros over p2p. Yes, there are valid reasons for that much data, but a good chunk of it, at least right now, is people pirating movies. Of course with the advent of youtube and other video streaming sites popping up I'm sure the bandwidth usage gap between legitimate users and media pirates is closing.
Yes, thank you for pointing that out. I pretty much despise both major parties since they're both in it for the same reasons: more power for themselves. That was also why 'reps' [representatives] was lowercase. Some people love to see bias everywhere. And to the grandparent AC poster: trust me bub, when I post to tear apart the Republicans, you'll know it.
If by values voters you mean Indian casinos contributing to campaign coffers. It's interesting to note that many of the reps against online gambling seem to have no problem at all supporting local tribal casinos. It's all about who's greasing palms and playing nice with the government (ala taxes).
You missed the actual reason (IMHO) why the major excuse for preventing this feature is "American citizens will be targeted." It's not because the world is so anti-American that it's patently unsafe to be identified as American, but because claims of terrorism sells in DC.
The opposition to RFID passports has tried other arguments - the technology is (relatively) unproven and insecure, there are privacy issues, cost vs benefit, ID spoofing, etc. None of it did any good since we still see the measure being pushed. So if you can't beat em, join em. And why not? Screaming 'ZOMGWTFBBQ terrorists!' has pushed through every other piece of oppressive and stupid legislation since 911, so let's speak the language our reps appear to understand. If you RFID passports then terrorists will use them to ID and target American citizens abroad. Who cares if it's true, practically nothing else this administration has based on terrorism allegations has been true. If only we could demonstrate that the RFID tags somehow aided pedophiles then the tags would be shot down in a special session of congress tomorrow! RFID passports?!?! Think of the Children!!!
Would that be "For shits and googles"?
Thank you, thank you, I be here all ze veek.
IIRC when the movie was first being shopped around it was mentioned that Bungie had put together a 'Halo Bible' of sorts to provide clarity and guidance on the storyline. Is he even using this Ultimate Reference? Personally I don't consider myself one of these 5% fringe fans who feel wronged by every edit, but if Bungie has in fact made available a document which provides all of the Halo-world information to make a true-to-form movie then it would be stupid not to at least start with that and then make alterations as needed.
;)
Bungie has already done all the hard work here, they've created the universe, the storyline, the characters, and have sold it to millions of fans who know and love THAT particular version. Working from anything other than the Bungie story source is essentially just throwing all that work out. Stay true to what Bungie created and you're guaranteed almost the entire Halo playing audience without much effort.
Oh, that and shoot Uwe Boll on sight if he wanders near the set.
Although you're technically correct (the BEST kind of correct!) it doesn't change the analogy. Replace 'ISP' with 'facebook' and it still doesn't explain how if the kid agreed to such a check with the employer, when did he tell facebook so that they knew to let the employer have access? The only other options are the employer gave facebook some sort of USA PATRIOT ACT order to which they complied (as alleged), or as someone else suggested, the employer simply googled a cached copy and then tried to seem all important and powerful by claiming to have found it via envoking the USA PATRIOT ACT. Or maybe he personally hacked facebook and claimed he used the act, as an unlikely alternative.
no expections, don't even try to parade your favorite one out and claim them to be virtuous and pure, you are wrong
;) While I say that somewhat tongue-in-cheek, it does stand to reason that many more people will be (adversely) affected by rulings on net neutrality than on flag burning.
Actually I think you'll find that Ron Paul (R, TX) seems to be one of the few representatives out there who fights for ideals and measured government rather than towing (toeing) a company line. He originally ran as a Libertarian and was defeated, switched to running as a Republican and got elected, however his policies are wholly Libertarian. He writes columns posted on www.lewrockwell.com on occassion and I find his writings are more in-line with the majority of slashdotter's than anyone else in government.
Also, with regard to the flagburning comment that you tore into, I think what the author meant was that more people are more familiar with the recent flag burning legislation issues than with recent cyberspace legislation issues. He did not mean the concept of flag burning in general. What's always depressingly amusing (to me anyway) about the anti-flag burning legislation that cycles through congress every few years is that it's never really been a problem. It's pretty clear that the current round has been brought about soley because of (A) the current war in Iraq and the "support the troops and presidential policy or you're a terrorist" mentality this administration is trying to sell, and (B) it's an election year. If flag burning were really a pandemic issue that required congressional attention you'd think you'd see even one US incident reported, but this is not the case. They are few and far between, there are no mass flag-burning rallies. People aren't pouring gas on piles of flags in demonstration, it's just more vote-grabbing by trying to look patriotic, ironically by snuffing the freedoms of others. I don't want to get into the debate of flag burning as politcal speech, but needless to say case law currently upholds that and there is no flag-burning crisis so it's all a load of crap meant to distract people from important issues - like net neutrality for example.
I never saw any ads for Halo but after playing it at a friends house I became instantly addicted, it had a balance to it that other FPSes at the time seemed to lack. If the game sold only on advertising hype then there would be no explanation for the massive popularity of it on xbox Live (Halo 2 that is) and the freeware networking program that was created for Halo 1 before over-the-net play was provided by MS/bungie through Live.
Bloody well posted Intergalatic Edison! I eventually found the notice in the 'records department' in the basement. The stairs had gone, as had the lights. It was in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'beware of the leopard'.
It's only free if your time is worthless.
For those of us that can multitask such simple things like filling out our contact info on a form and putting together a letter (a sum total of perhaps 2 minutes) this isn't even a blip on the radar. If I'm watching something I like on TV or waiting for my chicken to defrost for dinner then I have time to fill this stuff out that I don't need to bill someone for. Hell, people waste more time using the bathroom in the morning. So yeah, given the tiny amount of time filling out a rebate takes, along with how much time is wasted or spent idling during the day, it is essentially free. Especially when you're talking about any rebate over even, say, $5. If it takes me 5 minutes to fill out the forms and collect the UPCs and I consider my time worth, for example, $30/hr then I have lost $30/60 minutes * 5 minutes = $2.50 of time billing at my arbitrary rate. Yet the rebate is for double this amount so I have made money. For higher amount rebates like for monitors that can be for $80 or more the rebate submission time to money returned ratio is MUCH higher. The phrase "there's no such thing as a free lunch" is techically true, but only really applies in a theoretical world where every moment of time and every cent is held with perfect value and one never wastes either. In reality laziness, marginal value, and perceived value tend to create a more inefficient system that allow for "free" lunches.
5. The bank buys the PCs with OEM Windows installs and accepts the licenses (and terms of the EULA). Then, it immediately installs it's corporate Windows version/license and resells the now unsed but perfectly valid OEM licenses as before.
I think the judge messed up on this one. His argument seems ot rely ont he bank not accepting the EULA and therefore not technically obtaining the licenses. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe there is a clause in the current MS Windows EULA that specifically says that you cannot resell the software with the license. So what is the bank doing that invalidates the EULA other than saying "We don't want the OS that came with this?"
I agree though, that the proper solution is for the OEM to reimburse the bank (or whoever) the cost of the license that they don't want and aren't using. Sadly that option is missing from most every PC seller, and it's always amazed me how this fact somehow escapes all of the antitrust suits brought against MS.
I just wonder how/if MS will get the music cartels to agree to it, other than wholescale bombing of their headquarters' into submission by the Windows Air Force.
"Why those are some real nice computers you got there at the RIAA, running some fancy Windows OS too. Sure would be a shame if WGA suddenly listed them all as pirated...."
e.g. a company that does secure work for the government and legally must have a secured network. A program which auto-downloads from an outside source and installs arbitrary code - including the ability to remotely disable the machine - would not fly in such an environment. Geez, good thing you posted AC, your ignorance is showing. Looking around the room and seeing what works for YOU does not mean the solution is good enough for EVERYONE.
This has all been said before here on slashdot, but the fact remains, there is no killer app for blueray/HD-DVD that justifies the huge expense to convert one's current DVD collection. I just don't get it.
Also, why the hell are they so expensive anyway? It's a higher density format, with more data to decode faster and with a new type of laser, and granted economies of scale haven't kicked in yet. But considering a good quality DVD player is about 15% or less the cost of these new players, what is driving such a rediculous price? For $1000 to $1500 just about anyone can put together a computer system to record TV, including hi-def content, and store and distribute on-demand their personal DVD collection throughout their house with that sytem. Plus it will likely be a nice enough gaming rig to boot. Let's see, full home streaming video system vs higher res movies that don't even exist yet. Gee, tough call. [/cynicism]
Eight year old's response after watching Marty McFly play the arcade shooting game in the diner in 2015: "You mean you have to use your hands? That's a baby's game."
So yes, they did attempt to set up a meeting but were given no response, so they sent word on what time and date they would attempt to meet inperson to present their grievance - which was some 165,000 names of French citizens who had signed a petition. That many signatures takes up a lot of paper, he chose to print it to a roll rather than a full reem of 8.5x11, I don't really see how that has any bearing. Also, his coice of dress - while terrible for meeting with any politician, let alone the PM of another country - is netiher directly relevent to our conversation, nor is it that of a hobo since it's what you can see anywhere in corporate America on a casual Friday.
To sum up: the FSF and Stallman sent a number of letters asking for an interview but were ignored. They then provided written notice of their coming, so as not to be mistaken for hooligans and shot or otherwise. And they brought with them a list of 165,000 people who agreed with their grievance on DRM and had it printed in an obscure but rather formal looking format.
So explain to me again how this is not attempting to make a meeting, then failing that, attempting to present the grievance in person? If this were truly merely theatrics to get themselves noticed don't you think they would have alerted any media whatsoever to cover the event? Instead it looks like someone from their group, or at best a single reporter, snapped some digital photos, hardly a publicity stunt.
Also I would say that anytime 165,000 of a country's citizens sign a petition and work to have it presented to their representative leaders, that is attempting to start a serious dialogue about an issue.
Normal people make a meeting... Or if failing that they write the grievance down and hand deliver it.
Funny, having read the article I thought that was exactly what happened.
Let's see, browse the web, take photos and 20fps videos, email, write documents, play games, calculator, code write code on it if there were an IDE app for it (migh tbe? not sure). Sounds like pretty much what everyone uses a desktop PC for already as far as basic tasks go. You want more powerful apps look at the OQO and whta it has to offer, AFAIK, that would be everything a PC offers.
Typing with two fingers won't get you very far, and having to squint to try and read the screen (or zooming in and having to scroll constantly) isn't productive at all.Have you ever actually typed with two fingers? Or seen some of the crackberry users who do it all day long? 120 wpm is not out of reach for some people. Plus you're making the false assumption that this device absolutely must be used for the same purpose as a full sized PC, there are different applications that lend themselves to portability than wordprocessing. Yeah, if you want to write a novel maybe a full sized keyboard would be a better investment. Why does that mean that this theoretical microPC device is somehow worthless because you can't perform a single specific function that is limited by the nature of our hands? What if there's enough processing power on this new device to make autodictation fast and reliable, why would I even need to type my document then? And to counter your privacy argument there is technology coming out that allows you to attach a sensor to your throat and it understands wehat you are saying if you talking silently, military is looking to use it for missions where both silence and communication is needed. Also I don't need to squint to read the screen, nor zoom to read text. I see no reason why any device shoul dbe stilted for not being accesible by the lowest common denominator of user. So what if Blindy McGrandpa can't read the screen, I ca and it's a useful device for me. Should we not build fighter planes anymore just because most of the population lacks the better than 20-20 eyesight required by pilots?
Trying to focus on a screen less than an inch in-front of you eyes to read it, however, is impossible for your eyes.
There are already devices that focus the light directly onto the back of your eye with no negative effects, so no focus is even needed for such a system. Beyond that one can adjust the image so that it does produced a focused picture for the eye without a person having to actually focus at a 2" distance.
That's not space-saving at all. First off, because the main unit is nearly as large as a (folded?) keyboard to begin with. Second, because you really have to carry a DESK with you to use it...
Ok, so there's no chance whatsoever that this first gen device can be made smaller? Yeah right, no doubt in a year's time it will be half the size, I'd wager a large part fo the space is taken up by the batteries currently. See the recent article on capacitor batteries for a view of how that will change. And who says you need a chest high desk? Just take out a manilla folder and put it on your lap. Is your complaint that you can't use it standing up on a train? Fine, then get a single hand keyboard. Oh Noes! A siungle hand keyboard requires learning how to use it. Yeah, guess what, every device has a learning curve, and if you aren't willing to learn a new interface device to gain the benfits of a totally portable system then who cares about your opinion? Fully portable minature powerful PCs offer a whole new class of applications we haven't even thought of yet, refusing to acknowledge that is like clinging to a landline and not getting a cellphone because the battery may run out on the cellphone someday but your landline will always have power.
I sure hope there's two involved! Cloning ain't quite ready yet. ;)
Ever here of a Blackberry? The dimension of the entire device is about 4"x3" and yet somehow people manage to get a lot done with them. And my vx9800 phone seems to be extremely useful with a full qwerty keyboard under 4" x 1.5" and a 2" x 1.5" screen, it's mostly limited currently by a lack of open applications and good mobile websites. I can only imagine what a device this size will have to offer me when it's processing capabilites are on-par with a laptop.
A "glasses" display will only make you sick, possibly giving you eyesight problems, serious headaches, etc.
I'm sorry to hear that you appear to have inner ear problems. I, however, have no problem reading or watching screens in moving vehicles, feel fine at sea, and am not made sick by current lightweight head-mounted displays I've tested for military grade robotics. A properply adjusted and focused glasses display will cause no more eyesight problems than staring at a 15" LCD in a dark room furtively posting on slashdot at 4 in the morning. ;P
And since there's currently no good replacements for keyboards, hasn't saved space anyhow.
Check out laser projected keyboard out, how's that for space saving?
A gadget is only as worthless as the person who doesn't know how to properly apply it.
Win98? That game sucked.
/me ducks!
Kinda puts the NSA-AT&T fiber optic cable splice into a new light, eh?
Still, that's even more useless than sifting through a billion call logs since essentially EVERY request for data on the web is from multiple distributed users all trying to get a file from server X. Whether it's the latest Linux release, or a news article, or pictures of someone's new baby, there's just too much to find the one README.TXT that the (at this point wholly theoretical) terrorist cell is checking and editing on their RCN-provided webspace account.